Pages

1/20/11

Jurors reach finding in Williams shooting inquest

Jurors in the inquest into the police shooting death of John T. Williams have issued their findings. In short, there seems to be big doubts, based on the jurors findings, as to whether Officer Ian Birk was justified in shooting Williams. THIS IS HUGE! Remember that the jury had to answer 18 questions, and that this IS NOT a ruling on Birk's guilt. Now the King County prosecutor has to determine whether there is grounds to charge Birk of a crime. Seattle ISO activists will be working on a more detailed piece soon. We'll post here and at Socialistworker.org

Check this blog for more coverage. We will post details and provide coverage of upcoming protests.

Here is the jury's findings in the inquest into the shooting of John T. Williams by Seattle police Officer Ian Birk.1. On August 30, 2010, did Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk observe John T. Williams crossing the street?YES: .8 NO: . UNKNOWN: .2. Was John T. Williams holding an open knife at the time he was first observed by Officer Birk?YES: 8 . NO: . UNKNOWN: .3. Did Officer Birk get out of his patrol car to contact John T. Williams?YES: 8 . NO: . UNKNOWN: .4. Did Officer Birk gesture to John T. Williams to come back to Officer Birk's location?YES: 7. NO: . UNKNOWN: 1.5. Did John T. Williams have a knife in his hand when Officer Birk contacted him?YES: 8. NO: . UNKNOWN: .6. Did Officer Birk order John T. Williams to put the knife down?YES: 8. NO: . UNKNOWN: .
If your answer to question 6 was yes, please answer the following 4 questions:6a: Did Officer Birk order John T. Williams to put the knife down more than once?YES: .8 NO: . UNKNOWN: .6b: Did John T. Williams have sufficient time to put the knife down after Officer Birk's order?YES: 1. NO: 4. UNKNOWN: 3.6c: Did John T. Williams try to put the knife down after Officer Birk's order?YES: . NO: . UNKNOWN: 8.6d: Did John T. Williams put the knife down before Officer Birk began to fire his weapon?YES: . NO: 8. UNKNOWN: .7. Was the front of John T. Williams' upper body partially turned towards Officer Birk when Officer Birk began to fire his weapon?YES: 2. NO: 5. UNKNOWN: 1.7a: If no, was John T. Williams turning towards Officer Birk when Officer Birk fired his weapon?YES: 5. NO: . UNKNOWN: .8. Did Officer Birk fire his weapon at John T. Williams on August 30, 2010?YES: 8. NO: . UNKNOWN: .9. When Officer Birk fired his weapon, did John T. Williams have a knife in his hand?YES: 8. NO: . UNKNOWN: .9a. If yes, was John T. Williams' knife blade open when Officer Birk fired his weapon? YES: . NO: 4. UNKNOWN: 4 .10. Did Officer Birk believe that John T. Williams posed an imminent threat of serious physical harm to Officer Birk at the time Officer Birk fired his weapon?YES: 4. NO: . UNKNOWN: 4.11. Based on the information available at the time Officer Birk fired his weapon, did John T. Williams then pose an imminent threat of serious physical harm to Officer Birk?YES: 1. NO: 4. UNKNOWN: 3.12. Did John T. Williams die in King County, Washington on August 30, 2010?YES: 8. NO: . UNKNOWN: .13. Did John T. Williams die from the gunshot wounds caused by Officer Birk? YES: 8. NO: . UNKNOWN: .

Click to download a "Where We Stand" pamphlet written by Socialist Worker columnist Paul D'Amato. With sections on socialism not capitalism, workers' power, revolution, internationalism, full equality and liberation, and the revolutionary party, it provides an introduction to the politics of international socialism and to the activities of the International Socialist Organization.